In college, of course we all want to be deep learners, but maybe sometimes we all fall prey to being too concerned with a grade. Depending on the class, it might spark your curiosity or encourage you to dig deeper into what you're learning. For example, in my GCH Rivers class, we are always being pushed to truly understand the concepts of watersheds and be passionate about it. I find myself actually caring about advocacy for watersheds and the environment, and I really enjoy figuring out the complicated diagrams of how all these things work. I took it to fulfill my general ed science requirement and so far, ended up really loving the class. I think this might also be because of the excellent professor, Dr. Caroline Druschke, who is so passionate about what she teaches, that it rubs off on us. We've gotten the opportunity to actually go to White Horn Brook and study it, and I noticed how it altered my view of the campus. Right now, I find all of my classes engaging, but I know that may not be the case all throughout my four years here. With this in mind, I'm thinking that I'll be able to remind myself to try and always be interested in every class, regardless of the subject. Another thing that will keep me on the deep learning path, is that I feel so grateful that I got enough financial aid and scholarships to come here and to not be hard working in all my classes would seem like a waste, I would feel as if I was throwing away an opportunity, or being ungrateful that I am lucky enough to go to college. I need to not fall into the mindset of, 'oh, this isn't related to education or Spanish (my other major) so I don't need to work as hard'. Reading The Game of School really provided me with a different perspective and insight into how that mediocrity mindset can be so detrimental to learning. Additionally, if I'm not a deep learner in college, how will that affect what kind of teacher I end to be? If I want to teach in an exciting, passionate way, I need to figure out how to learn passionately as well. Hopefully, as I continue through college I can find ways to enjoy all my classes as much as I enjoy classes like Spanish and my GCH Rivers class (as well as this one too of course!). Overall, my goal is to be a deep learner but also to do well on exams and papers, and finding that balance. If I work hard and don't get a perfect grade, it's not the end of the world as long as I learned something.
In college, of course we all want to be deep learners, but maybe sometimes we all fall prey to being too concerned with a grade. Depending on the class, it might spark your curiosity or encourage you to dig deeper into what you're learning. For example, in my GCH Rivers class, we are always being pushed to truly understand the concepts of watersheds and be passionate about it. I find myself actually caring about advocacy for watersheds and the environment, and I really enjoy figuring out the complicated diagrams of how all these things work. I took it to fulfill my general ed science requirement and so far, ended up really loving the class. I think this might also be because of the excellent professor, Dr. Caroline Druschke, who is so passionate about what she teaches, that it rubs off on us. We've gotten the opportunity to actually go to White Horn Brook and study it, and I noticed how it altered my view of the campus. Right now, I find all of my classes engaging, but I know that may not be the case all throughout my four years here. With this in mind, I'm thinking that I'll be able to remind myself to try and always be interested in every class, regardless of the subject. Another thing that will keep me on the deep learning path, is that I feel so grateful that I got enough financial aid and scholarships to come here and to not be hard working in all my classes would seem like a waste, I would feel as if I was throwing away an opportunity, or being ungrateful that I am lucky enough to go to college. I need to not fall into the mindset of, 'oh, this isn't related to education or Spanish (my other major) so I don't need to work as hard'. Reading The Game of School really provided me with a different perspective and insight into how that mediocrity mindset can be so detrimental to learning. Additionally, if I'm not a deep learner in college, how will that affect what kind of teacher I end to be? If I want to teach in an exciting, passionate way, I need to figure out how to learn passionately as well. Hopefully, as I continue through college I can find ways to enjoy all my classes as much as I enjoy classes like Spanish and my GCH Rivers class (as well as this one too of course!). Overall, my goal is to be a deep learner but also to do well on exams and papers, and finding that balance. If I work hard and don't get a perfect grade, it's not the end of the world as long as I learned something.